When Eusebio was buried in lumiere cemetery, millions of people mourned his legacy for football. In Lisbon, in Lourenço-Marquis, the Black Panther Eusebio lives on. thesefootballtimes.co author Christopher Weir tells the story of Eusebio.
"Who was that black guy who scored a hat-trick in 20 minutes?" Bailey was stunned after seeing Eusebio's performance. In that "tournoi de paris" cup match, Santos won 6-3 against Benfica, but the focus of all fans was on Eusebio, who came off the bench in the second half, with savage speed and super ability to score goals. It took him just 17 minutes to complete the hat-trick. The next day, the Guardian used the headline "Eusebio 3-2 Pele", which was used as a headline.
Eusebio, the original football superstar from Africa, ushered in his time.
Life in Mozambique was difficult, as a Portuguese colony was supplied with cotton and sugar, and the indigenous population suffered from brutal oppression. Although locals have fought for human rights, their efforts have been quelled by gunfire and murder. In Eusebio's hometown of Lourenço Marquis, locals were driven out of the town and had to struggle to survive in the surrounding shantytowns.
None of this matters, though. Eusebio showed his talent for football at a young age. He often skipped school to play with friends — the balls they used were made of newspapers and socks. As for the sneakers, that was a luxury for Eusebio, who could only kick barefoot on the ground with small pebbles. It was in this environment that Eusebio felt his talent and joined the satellite team of Portuguese sports at the age of 15. In 1960, Brazilian coach Carlos Bauer took a Brazilian team to Mozambique for exchanges and competitions. In the game, Eusebio showed his strong and speedy side, he was able to constantly attack the opponent's defense and scored two goals. Soon, Carlos Bauer realized that this player was a player not to be missed.
"What did you find?" Gutman asked half-jokingly. He met Carlos Ball a few months ago, who promised to recommend Gutmann if he found any promising young players after returning from Africa. "I found a black guy in Mozambique." Eusebio then traveled from Mozambique to Portugal and became a member of Benfica.
Before joining the Portuguese sports satellite team, Eusebio had been recommended to go to the satellite team in Benfica, but the latter was not optimistic about Eusebio's ability and was not even willing to give him a chance to evaluate. Because of this, their competitors got the opportunity to sign Eusebio. And because of this, when Eusebio arrived in Portugal, Gutmann took everything he could to prevent the Scouts of Portuguese Sports from coming into contact with the 18-year-old African prodigy. He even arranged for three bodyguards to be at Eusebio's side, "isolating" him in a house in the Algarve.
The new benfica striker, Gutmann hadn't even seen Eusebio perform before officially joining Benfica. However, it only took him a few minutes to realize that what he was about to sign was the team's future main force. "This little brother is gold." Gutmann told his assistant Fernando Kesado that Eusebio's performance in the training match stunned the Benfica players. Although everyone was cautious in the beginning, as soon as Eusebio showed his talent, everyone was conquered. The team, which had just been crowned the European laurels, was thus conquered by Eusebio.
Eusebio was able to work seamlessly with Jose Augusto and Antonio Simmons and scored 27 goals in 30 games. As for his compatriot Mario Krona, he was able to provide strong fire support behind them. That season, Benfica beat Vienna, Nuremberg and Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League, and met Real Madrid in the Champions League final. There is no doubt that real Madrid also had many outstanding players at that time, such as Stéfano, such as Puskas, although they have passed the age of standing, they can still show deadly strength.
However, the focus of this Champions League final is Eusebio. When the two sides reached 3-3, Eusebio showed his best, eventually helping the team to a 5-3 victory over Real Madrid.
The final whistle sounded, the fans rushed into the stadium, and the tearful Eusebio was held high by the fans, and this happy atmosphere also infected every Benfica fan. Since the game, Eusebio has been given the opportunity to contact his idol. Stéfano was one of the greatest players of his generation, and after the game he approached Eusebio to exchange shirts with him.
Having won the Champions League for two consecutive seasons, it looks like Benfica has turned on its own dynasty mode. Under the leadership of "Black Panther" Eusebio, they reached the Champions League final twice, but once lost to Milan and the other to Inter Milan. In any case, under eusebio' leadership, Benfica won consecutive Portuguese league titles between 1963 and 1965. In addition, before following the Portuguese national team to the 1966 World Cup, Eusebio also won the Ballon d'Or, becoming the best player in the world.
Portugal, at the time, were the favourites to win the 1966 World Cup, and they were very hopeful of appearing at Wembley Stadium on 30 July. The Portuguese national team, with Benfica players as the team, has beaten Hungary and Bulgaria in the group stage, and the strength they show in the game and the fluency of their overall operation are obvious. In the final game of the group stage, Eusebio scored twice, and finally helped the team win brazil, which further enhanced the confidence of Portuguese fans in the World Cup.
At the same time, Eusebio's humility in the game also made him famous in the world. During the match, Eusebio was assigned the number 13 shirt, but Antonio Simmons was not happy because he often wore this number in the national team. Even in that era of random number assignment, Antonio Simmons often wore the number 13 shirt. Because of this, Eusebio immediately exchanged shirts with Antonio Simmons. Something similar happened in the 1968 Champions League final. Manchester United goalkeeper Alex Stenay saved Eusebio's shot. While people were clapping for Alex Steney, Eusebio joined in, patting him lightly on the cheek.
Although Portugal advanced to the top of the group stage, their situation in the knockout rounds was not smooth. North Korea beat Italy to reach the quarter-finals of the World Cup and meet Portugal at Goodison Park for the quarter-finals. At one point in this match, North Korea led by three goals. It was in this situation that Eusebio ushered in the greatest moment of his career. Two minutes after Yang Shengguang scored, Eusebio pulled a goal back for Portugal. In the 43rd minute of the match, he scored another penalty to close the gap between the team and North Korea. After the start of the second half, Eusebio scored two more goals to help the team beat their opponents 5-3 to reach the semi-finals – their semi-final opponents were hosts England.
A few days before the match began, the FA announced that the match would be moved to Wembley Stadium. Despite the Portuguese's anger at such a decision, their players remained calm and confident, confident of winning the World Cup trophy and supported by tens of thousands of fans behind them. In Portugal's match against England, Charlton took the lead for the Three Lions, and 10 minutes before the end of the game, Charlton scored twice to set england up for the win. Although Eusebio scored a penalty in the match, the goal was already irrelevant. Portugal was eventually eliminated by England. Still, Eusebio became the top scorer of this World Cup. But when he saw his teammates in tears on the pitch, the nine goals seemed irrelevant.
That summer, Inter developed a keen interest in Eusebio, and although they finalized a £3m transfer deal at the time, the deal did not take shape with the intervention of Portuguese dictator Antonio Salazar. In addition, the Portuguese dictator issued a decree calling black panthers "an asset of the state." Benfica is a very important publicity tool for their star players, who will not, cannot, and are not allowed to leave.
'With Eusebio around, we can win the Champions League. His friend and teammate Antonio Simmons said, "Without him, we wouldn't even have been able to get the Portuguese league. In the 1968 Champions League final, Benfica took on Manchester United, but as in the World Cup semi-final two years ago, Nobby Stiles once again limited Eusebio's play. In the end, Eusebio won the european top scorer of the year, but Benfica was not able to lift the final championship trophy.
After winning Europe's top scorer in 1973, Eusebio finally waited for his chance to leave Portugal – in 1974, Salazar's regime was overthrown and Eusebio was allowed to leave. After leaving Benfica, Eusebio moved to Major League America. When he suffered an injury in his knee, he announced his decision to retire in 1979.
Identity is very important in the world of football, and it is equally indispensable in Eusebio's football career. He has always faced the problem of his preference for Africa, or Portugal, and he has never given a clear answer. "It's a political issue." In a 2008 interview with fourfourtwo.com, Eusebio said, "I'm not a politician. "Whether Eusebio himself likes to or not, he has represented Benfica and Portugal more throughout his career. He was the representative of European football and the representative of African football, and his incredible career laid the foundation for an entire generation of talent pouring into the world stage. "I'm happy with what I've achieved. My victory is very important, but I will never forget my teammates. ”
Mourinho said of Eusebio: "I think he is immortal. We all know what he means to football, especially to Portuguese football. ”
When Eusebio was buried in lumiere cemetery, millions of people mourned his legacy for football. In Lisbon, in Lourenço-Marquis, the Black Panther Eusebio lives on.
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